Brave heart

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Chart-topper James Blunt continues to march forward,
writes Andrew Murfett.

AS A British soldier, James Blunt never had much time for
politics. Yet when the singer-songwriter, who is No.1 around the
world this week, found himself serving in Kosovo as a peacekeeper
in 2001, he was compelled to write a song with enormous political
gravitas, the stunning No Bravery.

''It took 10 minutes to write," Blunt says. "It just reports
exactly the way things were, I don't give a stuff what the
politicians think, I know we were doing a humanitarian job that was
worthwhile.

''Having left the army now, perhaps I will become more
politically vocal."

Blunt decided to be a musician when he was 14. He had been
playing various musical instruments, starting with the violin,
since he was five but started to get serious during his last year
in the army, getting studio time under his belt during periods of
leave.

On leaving the army, Blunt appointed a manager and was
discovered by Linda Perry, the super-producer for Pink and
Christina Aguilera. Perry offered Blunt a record deal almost
immediately after seeing him perform.

''In a climate where everybody was nervous about losing their
jobs, it was remarkable. She doesn't really give a stuff about
short-term income and being trendy or fashionable," Blunt says.

Back to Bedlam was recorded over four months in
Hollywood.

''What better place to record an album?" he enthuses. "Instead
of going to a studio down the road in London, in the rain, it was
good for me to go to the land of dreams and really live that."

Blunt is now top of the charts in six countries, including
Australia, and in the top 10 in another five. However, he is
unlikely to be affected by the indulgence or hedonism of
international fame.

In person, the diminutive singer-songwriter is serious but
unfailingly polite. Yet when asked about his breakthrough single,
You're Beautiful, a smile trickles across his face.

He wrote it about an encounter with a former girlfriend and her
new boyfriend on the London underground, and it is one of the
year's biggest pop songs.

''It really has broken me," he deadpans.

Serving as a soldier - a facet of life that few of us will ever
experience - has helped to give Blunt a laid-back approach to
performing live, which can reduce some artists to a bundle of
nerves.

''There's nothing to be frightened of, it's just music. Doctors
and nurses feel more pressures on a daily basis."

"Chart success is weird for me," he says.

"I don't want to think about it too much. It implies some sort
of competitive element, and music is not really about competition,
it's about enjoyment and, I guess, a connection."